Went on Friday, about 7pm. It was extremely busy, with about an hour wait for
a table. However, we got a spot at the bar in about 5 minutes where we enjoyed
the Pale Ale and the Brown Ale. We both prefered the Pale Ale... I could drink
a lot of it... definitely dangerous.
The atmosphere is amazing. It is perhaps the most unique attractive dining
room in this city... I can't even think of one which comes close.
We were seated in a booth, constructed from old church pews, but with padding
-- it was comfortable. We ordered an artichoke appetizer and the perogie
(spelling?!) of the day. Both were tasty, particularly the dip served along
with the artichokes.
My entrees, Sante Fe Chicken, was a bit greasy and bland, but the
argula/corn/peppers as well as the corn mush it was served with were
excellent. My wife's Salmon was quite underdone and pretty mediocre.
I suspect they are still figuring out how to cook/serve food, and the quality
will improve. They clearly have a good chef on hand judging from the excellent
presentation of all the dishes -- just some mechanics to work out.
I'd advise going to have a couple beers and maybe split one of the pizzas --
they looked really good.
Entrees were $12-$13, beers $3, and appetizers around $6.
Summary:
Atmosphere: excellent
Beer: excellent
Service: above average
Food: mediocre
Barry
ps. Looks like they get a lot of the downtown-professional happy-hour crowd.Pittsburgh, PA
Church Brew Works, few comments.
Joseph S. wrote: >I didn't eat, so I can't comment on the food, but the menu seemed >a little weird. It seems like every one has to throw some bizarre >offbeat "gourmet" ingredient into everything, so instead of agood >homemade potato salad, you end up with some kind of sweet & sour, >honey roasted, taro root & tasso ham with elderberry vinegar nightmare >to show off the chef's creativity. There's enough mediocre food >out there already without making up new stuff. This reminds me of a depressing experience I had last week. I went to Rosebud in the Strip. The last time I had gone, which was not long after they opened, it was a large, pleasant place with nice holistic decor and very good food, including a selection of salads (palm heart, spinach, etc), interesting light entrees (although not as wacky as Kaya), and double plungers of decent novelty coffee. Now they feature wings, pizza, burgers, and other boring food that I can get at just about any mediocre fried food joint. The decor has turned into tavern tables and built-to-stand-up-to-boozing-crowds upholstry. The coffee made me want to vomit. Bummer. Doug